


Ocean Stars Falling

by Akumeoi



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Circus, Circus, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Ocean, Running Away, Secrets, Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:46:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28416336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi/pseuds/Akumeoi
Summary: Once a year, the circus comes to the grey town to Schler-on-Sea. Prompto will do anything to get away from his grey life for one night of magic and wonder there - and to see his best friend, Noctis, who glows and flies through his performances with the aid of hidden technology. But both Prompto and the circus have secrets they're keeping. This year, it's time for all to be revealed and for their futures to collide.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19
Collections: FFXV Book Club 2020 Holiday Exchange





	Ocean Stars Falling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [star54kar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/star54kar/gifts).



> Star, it seems like we have a lot of likes in common when it comes to Promptis fanfics. I tried to combine as many of them as possible into this story. IDK how I got "circus" out of "ocean, wind, stars" but there you have it. Happy holidays, and I hope this hits the spot!
> 
> Title comes from [a song of the same name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmEZzp7o8i8). I also listened to the [Nier Automata amusement park theme (sequential mix)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i03qQf8XEzI) while writing this. Check them out if you'd like a bit of atmosphere.
> 
> Visual references for Noctis's caravan:  
> ○ [antique circus caravan](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/28/18/24/2818244e7917114a1c4aad6162da9e77.jpg)  
> ○ [lace overhang](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/12/c9/7f/12c97f5f8b083d2641cef0e67d38fd0a.jpg)  
> ○ [round window](https://wonderfulengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Amazing-Home-inside-the-Cedar-Canadian-Forest-2.jpg)  
> ○ [Unused but sick AF steampunk turret caravan](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/01/34/56/013456f84d7d026fd23666675f9deb12.jpg)
> 
> Lastly, thank you so much to Astraia and Yuneyn for looking over this fic before posting to make sure that I haven't forgotten how to write Noctis and Prompto's voices. And for catching all those typos...

A cold, grey breeze rushed in from the ocean and around Prompto’s body as he walked the path along the cliffs beside the town of Schler-on-Sea. The bitter salt scent filled his nose, while his jacket and even his gelled hair rippled. He liked the way the wind flowed through him, not cleaving him in two but covering him in a way that made it feel like he could become part of the wind itself. The sky was grey with clouds and the impending fall of night, while the black ocean churned and broke into white against the base of the cliffs. Behind him, the silhouettes of smokestacks obscured the horizon and broke up the sky, their constant clouds of smoke invisible in the low light.

Schler-on-Sea was a factory town in the south of Lucis that bordered on the ocean. Prompto had lived there all his life, raised by a single mother who worked as a waitress at a local restaurant night and day to make ends meet. Like Lestallum in the north, the town’s factories were run mainly by women, yet Prompto’s mom’s expectation had always been that he would one day work there, too. He would get promoted until he made enough money for her to quit waitressing and they could move into a house instead of a two bedroom apartment.

For someone who just wanted to take pictures, the thought of daily grunt work and economic grasping was… a lot.

Was he supposed to be out here tonight? No. He was going to the one place he had been strictly ordered never to go. But as he fixed his eyes on the lights crowning the cliff before him, he couldn’t feel guilt or apprehension about what might happen if he continued - only excitement.

 _The circus is in town_.

That was the rumour, whispered on factory floors, in alleyways, and in the schoolyard Prompto would soon be graduating from, where it had finally slipped into Prompto’s ears.

 _The circus is in town_.

Colourful silk in rainbow and white stripes billowed over the Big Top and the many smaller tents and caravans surrounding it, while bright lights crowned every structure, as well as the temporary wire fence forming a circle around the circus. Performers in intriguing costumes mingled with townsfolk whose drab factory uniforms took on a new shine under the colour and lights. The performers proudly wore bodily features that would’ve been hidden in Schler - pointed ears, unibrows, mismatched eyes, birthmarks, and riotous freckles like Prompto’s own - all flattered in sequins and feathers and silk like they were _special_. As guests ducked into the smaller tents, fascinating animals, people, and items could be glimpsed, dividing the attention, entrancing the mind, and beckoning…

This was the vision that had led Prompto to pretend he was going to bed early, then sneak out the window of his apartment, down the fire escape, and onto the streets of Schler. From there, he’d walked the road to the outskirts of town, where a gravel path followed the line of the cliffs. Behind and in front of him he could see the black forms of others making their way to the circus, but they were far enough away that it felt like he was the only person around for miles, bathing in the cool wind.

With every step his excitement grew. His legs moved without him even thinking, and it seemed like it was only moments before he blinked and then - and _then!_ The circus was right before him, open gate and ticketmaster in their purple suit and tie beckoning him in.

This circus didn’t collect traditional payment, but you did have to give _something_ interesting at the door. Prompto dropped a Polaroid of a dog, three shiny pennies, and some cool marbles he’d found into the ticketmaster’s box, and was graciously waved in.

Because Prompto had had to wait to escape from his room to get here, he’d have to skip the sideshows in the smaller tents. Instead, he grabbed some popcorn from the food stalls run by the conjoined twins who accepted dried flowers as payment, then watched the people walking by.

In years past, when he was small and toffee-apple-sticky and desperately clutching his sellotape-refurbished camera, people-watching and drinking in the warm and twinkling atmosphere had been enough. This year, Prompto caught himself looking for a specific face in the crowd, and felt a little silly when the one he was looking for didn’t appear. Of course - Noctis was probably doing important things behind the scenes right now, or getting ready for his big appearance.

But Prompto’s disappointment was short-lived as he checked his watch and found that it was just ten minutes until the main performance started. Leaving his spot by the popcorn booth, Prompto entered the Big Top and searched for a seat with a good view.

Because he was alone, Prompto could fit in anywhere there was a bit of space on the wooden bleachers. He chose a spot near the front of the audience on the side closest to the performers’ entrance.

Soon after, the lights dimmed.

The first thing that always happened when the performance was about to start was that the programmes for the event would appear in the air before every visitor. Those who expected it would reach out and grab theirs, while others would gasp in amazement and then realise they had to take the programmes before they dropped to the floor. Even though it was dark, they were still legible, somehow. Prompto knew there were a few moments before the ringmaster arrived, so he quickly scanned the programme for any signs of Noctis.

When Prompto had first started coming here, Noctis had been billed as the Flying Lotus. Then, he had become the Warpmeister Supreme, clearly having picked his own alias. Now, neither of those names were present. Prompto was guessing that the person listed as the Prince of Crystal was probably Noctis. At least, he hoped.

Just as Prompto finished folding the programme and putting it into his jacket for safekeeping, a hush fell over the crowd. Coming from the performers’ entrance was a soft blue glow. The glow grew in intensity as the ringmaster entered the ring.

From that moment on, Prompto was transfixed, as was most of the rest of the audience. The wonders at this circus could be found nowhere else in the world: The jugglers who made flowers bloom as they threw them into the air, only to rain velvet-soft petals. The shimmering white chocobos who could throw their own feathers as sharp as metal knives with perfect precision, with their handlers and riders who could make bladed wings appear from their own backs and seemed to be able to speak to their birds in their language. The fire eater, Ignis, who breathed fire that became a dragon swooping through the air, who wore fire as his hair and wreaths of smoke as his cloak. The animal transformers, who removed their shirts and then turned into the giant, mighty eagles and snakes that were tattooed over their bodies. Every performer was more magnificent than the last. Prompto barely remembered that he still had popcorn in his hands.

At the intermission, nobody could believe what they had seen so far. According to the programme, the amazing feats they had seen were achieved by a mix of skill, practical effects, and cleverly concealed projectors and lights. Although Prompto was interested in technology and in knowing how things worked, this was the one time he didn’t care to know the full details. He was getting old for it, but he _wanted_ to believe in the magic of the circus. He wanted to believe that people could really do these amazing, unnatural things and be cheered and adored rather than reviled - the way Prompto wished he could be treated for that thing, that one thing that made _him_ unnatural…

He shoved the rest of his popcorn into his mouth, crumpled the bag into his other pocket, and crossed his fingers for the Prince of Crystal to be Noctis.

_Please be Noctis._

The house lights dimmed once more. The next round of performers arrived - tamers of giant, glass-like butterflies, themselves with gossamer wings attached to their backs; the Mechanics who seemed to make metal flow in brilliant silver streams; the Highwind family with their hands and staffs that threw bolts of white lightning and showers of sparks as they danced a graceful and fearless dance beneath them.

And then, a flash of silver-blue in the corner of Prompto’s eye. His breath caught in his throat. And there, yes, _there_ , soaring high above the crowd like a fire-filled comet, was Noctis. Like the ringmaster who was his father, Noctis glowed. But while Regis’s feet remained fixed on the ground, Noctis flew through the air more gracefully than any bird, leaving shining crystal flakes in his wake. Sometimes he passed by close enough for Prompto to see the intensity in his blue eyes, the points of his elfin ears, the sweat beading on his forehead underneath his thick black hair. One moment he would be there and the next he would be gone again, mesmerising and unattainable.

But warping through the air wasn’t the only thing Noctis did. Whenever he stopped, the crystal flakes would gather around him and form beautiful, complicated flowers he would show to the audience before vanishing them with a wave of his hand. That was why he had originally been billed as the Flying Lotus, back when he was too little to warp more than he made flowers. Prompto had long wished to hold one of those crystal flowers in his hand - if they weren’t just illusions.

When Noctis was in the ring, Prompto had eyes for no one else, no matter what they could do. He barely remembered to breathe as Noctis landed on his closest perch yet and began forming a lovely crystal flower. As the flower grew and was joined by another, Noctis’s eyes roamed over the audience, no doubt gauging their reactions.

And then, he made eye contact with Prompto.

Meeting his gaze sent shivers down Prompto’s spine. Even as Noctis vanished the flowers and launched himself into space again, it seemed as if Noctis’s eyes were drawn to him as much as Prompto’s were to Noctis, like Noctis was flying for Prompto alone. But though he longed to believe that could be true, Prompto knew it was more likely his own imagination that was making it seem so.

Noctis was part of the finale, so he remained in the ring until the last bows had been made. It was only after the last music note had played and the house lights had gone up that Prompto finally remembered to breathe.

As people filed out around him, Prompto stayed put on the bleachers, mind spinning with all that he had just seen. Noctis had been amazing this year. He always was, but seeing him live, flying through the air and shining like a star was so much better than a year-old memory. Prompto had never, ever been able to capture Noctis’s performance on camera. All he had to remind himself of years past was a single blurry polaroid, the only thing that had turned out: Noctis’s face pale and shining with his blue eyes intense and set, the air blurring from bright blue to black around him.

When Prompto noticed he was almost alone in the Big Top aside from the circus’s crew, his sense of anticipation grew. He waited three minutes, five, ten…

Just as Prompto was starting to get nervous, Noctis appeared from the performers’ entrance, wearing a plain black shirt and jeans with his hair damp and hanging limp as if he’d just showered. Prompto’s heart swelled as Noctis made a beeline straight for him.

_Noct came!_

“Noct,” Prompto said excitedly, “you were amazing!”

“Thanks,” Noctis said, grinning. “What did you think of my new name?”

“It’s good!”

“You think? I like the ‘prince’ part, but I dunno about the ‘crystal’.”

“I mean, it’s accurate. But yeah, I see what you mean. I’ll tell you if I have any genius ideas.”

There was a pause as the two simply looked at each other, unsure of how to step forward but glad to be in each other’s presence all the same.

“I’m glad you came this year,” Noctis said.

“Aww, you missed me? I guess you might be the Prince of Crystal, but I’m the Prince of Audience Members,” Prompto said, and Noctis laughed.

The first year Prompto had attended the circus, he’d actually hidden under the bleachers to watch the show because he hadn’t understood the way entrance payment worked. After the show had ended, he’d stayed back there, ears and eyes ringing with light, colour, and sound, trying hard to capture the memories in his head forever in case he never experienced this again. As he was staring out into the empty ring, Noctis had noticed him, quietly approached him, and startled him.

But far from being angry at Prompto, Noctis had solemnly introduced himself, explained the payment system, and politely listened to Prompto’s gushing praise over his performance. The next year, after paying double the entrance fees, Prompto had waited on the bleachers to see if Noctis would come…

And he had come then, and every year after. Over the years, Prompto had given him pictures of the town, plus small items he’d found that had made him think of Noctis. Although the show was amazing, talking to Noctis after was always one of the biggest highlights of Prompto’s circus experience. Even though they had never had a conversation longer than half an hour, Prompto still considered Noctis one of his best friends. A beautiful, mystical friend, way out of Prompto’s league for friendship, let alone anything else, but somehow, wonderfully, Prompto’s friend nonetheless.

This year, too, _he had come._

“Hey, uh… wanna see my caravan?” Noctis said hopefully. Prompto’s jaw dropped.

“Really?” he said. He barely got invited over to the houses of the kids at school, let alone to the caravan of the coolest person in the world.

Noctis nodded.

“Hell yeah!” Prompto said.

“Then go wait around the back. I’ll be there in a second.”

“Okay. Awesome,” Prompto agreed, a wide grin rising to his lips.

Tossing a shy smile over his shoulder, Noctis made his way back to the tent exit, and so did Prompto.

Outside, Prompto was hit with a refreshing blast of salt air, which cooled him down from the heat of the audience and woke him up a little bit more. Still smiling, he headed around the back of the tent just as Noctis had suggested. There he patiently waited, watching circus-folk going about their evening business in the area where the residential caravans were parked. Soon, he heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see Noctis walking towards him again.

“Come on. Wanna see where I sleep?” Noctis tossed his head towards the outer edge of the circus.

“So I can creep on you? Absolutely,” Prompto joked, following Noctis away from the tent. Noctis led him through the complicated maze of tents and caravans to the back of the lot, where the fence that encircled the circus broke for a moment and allowed the cliff to be a boundary in its stead. Parked just there was a dark blue caravan, about the right size for one person to live in.

Like many of the other caravans, Noctis’s was a work of art. It had a fairly boxy shape but with a curved roof that ended in an overhang above a doorway, a little porch where a rider could sit while the caravan was being pulled, a short flight of stairs, and an empty hitch. The support beams of the overhang and the stairs were carved like lace, while the body of the caravan was ornamented with vertical bars bisected by a strip of carved flowers shaped like the ones that Noctis seemed to make appear during his performances. There was a window with shutters on the top half of the caravan on each side, while the far end held a large, perfectly circular window without crossbars, set into wood that had been carved in circular ripples to accentuate it. The whole caravan was painted black, the bars and shutters dark blue and the flowers a slightly lighter shade of blue with white centres. However, Prompto could see the details on it even at night because the roof was rimmed with soft white fairy lights. Like most of the circus’s lights, the power source of said lights was completely indeterminable, which only made them more magical.

“It was my mom’s before she met my dad,” Noctis commented. That explained why it had flowers on it, but the black was definitely a Noctis touch.

The words _HRH Noctis Lucis Caelum_ were painted in neat, cursive, white script on the door. Prompto wondered what “HRH” meant, but figured it was carnival lingo he didn’t know yet.

“It’s really nice,” Prompto said honestly, wishing he had time to take some pictures of it, but night shots were hard enough without this being the photo-cursed circus.

It was then that Prompto’s eye fell on the thing that belonged between the empty hitches: a jet-black chocobo with sparkling silver streaks in its feathers and a silver beak and claws was sitting nearby, head tucked under its wing for the night.

“Her name is Stella,” Noctis said, gesturing to the chocobo.

“Stella! I love her,” Prompto exclaimed in a stage whisper, not wanting to disturb Stella’s rest even though his fingers were itching to pet her fluffy feathers. Instead, he clasped his hands to his chest and looked at her with shining eyes.

Noctis shook his head in amusement. “Me too. Wanna see inside the caravan?” he said, taking a step towards it in anticipation of Prompto’s response.

But Prompto bit his lip, hesitating. “Well… I want to, but… I can’t stay long, okay? I kinda snuck out to be here and I need to get home before Mom notices I’m gone.”

Noctis’s face fell. “I can make it quick…”

“That’s what he said.”

“Shut up,” Noctis said, giving Prompto a light punch in the shoulder. Prompto just smirked. Noctis walked over to the front of the caravan, climbed the steps, and opened the door so that Prompto could see inside.

“Here, just a glimpse.”

The interior of Noctis’s caravan seemed to be entirely black, from what Prompto could see. The carvings and flowers were a motif on the inside of the caravan, too, although here some were painted silver, and there was a sleek-looking silver chandelier. There was a bit of leather, perhaps a built-in couch or window-seat. Overall, it looked like a folksy, antique space that had been upgraded to a more clean, modern look.

Again, Prompto’s fingers itched for his camera.

“Man, it looks so cool,” he moaned. A quick check of his watch showed him that it was well past midnight. He sighed. “Thanks for showing me, Noct. I really gotta go now, though.”

“Are you sure you can’t stay longer?” Noctis said, shutting the caravan door.

The disappointment on Noctis’s face made Prompto feel like a massive asshole. “I’m in so much shit if I stay and my mom notices I’m gone. But you don’t even know how much I want to stay, Noct.”

“You say that every time,” Noctis argued.

“I swear, I mean it.” But those words didn’t feel like enough. Prompto had to say something else to convince Noctis that he really did care, or maybe next year Noctis wouldn’t be waiting for him. Gods, no. “This is the only place I really feel like I belong. I know, it’s dumb,” he said quietly.

“Of course you belong here,” Noctis said, walking back over to Prompto.

“Oh. Really?” Prompto said, a little startled by how confident Noctis sounded.

“Yeah. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t belong here.”

Prompto tilted his head. Was Noctis implying that every single person visiting the circus right now was _supposed_ to be there? How did _that_ work?

Prompto _knew_ he should walk away from this conversation right now, but he was curious…

“What do you mean?” he asked. Worm can: opened. Maybe he could still get home before 2AM…

Noctis paused. “Well… you can only come here if you’re fated, invited, or of the blood.”

Prompto had no idea what “fated” or “of the blood” meant, but he kinda had been invited the first time he’d ever come here. His friend Holly, one of the older kids at school, had been the one to first tell him about the circus.

“Oh, well, I guess I was kinda invited,” he said, but Noctis shook his head.

“Me wanting to see you doesn’t count as invited.”

Prompto immediately had to fight back a giant, stupid, surprised smile.

“Aww, you wanted to see me?” he teased, turning his dumb smile into a smirk. “I don’t come for free, you know.”

Noctis snorted. “You’re the one who had to pay to be here.”

“Your weird circus accepts payment for my presence in cool rocks, so I think you should pay for my presence in jokes,” Prompto said, raising an eyebrow.

Without missing a beat, Noctis said, “Why didn’t the salmon give a compliment to the human? It could tell that he was fishing for it. Payment over.”

Prompto groaned at the pun, then laughed. “It’s horrible, but I guess I’ll accept that you tried your best.” He stuck his tongue out at Noctis, who rolled his eyes. “But anyway, yeah, I meant that I was invited to come here by one of my friends the first time.”

“Who’s your friend?”

“Holly Teulle?”

“And what did she say?”

“Oh - she just said, like, ‘the circus is in town and I’m gonna go see it, do you wanna come with?’” Prompto said, hoping his recollection was accurate.

“Hmm,” Noctis said, folding his arms. “I guess that could work. But are you sure you’re not of the blood?”

“Uh… what does that mean?” Prompto asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

Noctis looked Prompto straight in the eye for an uncomfortably long moment, seemingly searching him - but for what, Prompto had no idea.

“You know…” Noctis said slowly. “Magic. Like us.”

Prompto drew back, his heart pounding in his chest. All lingering thoughts of going home vanished. _Magic_. His skin tingled, and he had to push back against it, a note of panic joining the shock and hope that were mingled in his veins.

“Excuse me, do you mean that the warping and flower shit you do is real?” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as breathless as he felt.

Noctis hesitated again. “I’m supposed to let the humans have misconceptions, but I can trust you, right?”

Prompto nodded. “I won’t tell.” He laughed weakly. As if anyone would believe him. As if his mom wouldn’t immediately disown him if he dared even mention that the circus might be magic.

“Then yeah. It’s real.”

Prompto sucked in a breath. “And what are you?” he said, then winced. “I mean like, where does the magic come from? Why do you have it? Sorry, that came out not so great, ha.”

Noctis shook his head. “It’s fine. We’re a travelling faerie court. In ye olden days or whatever, we would’ve been a wild hunt or a moving feast like the one that goes to Insomnia. My dad is the king, my mom’s the queen, and I’m the prince, but we don’t fully follow the old code because it’s too dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“Yeah. Like how you made a joke just now that I had to pay you in jokes to see you, and I made one. If we were following the ancient ways of faerie or whatever, I would’ve now been literally forced to tell you a joke every time I saw you or my tongue would be cut out. My family line didn’t think that kind of thing was great, so we relaxed our social status so the magic that makes the court would chill out, too.”

Prompto’s head spun. Noctis, a prince? For a moment, he wondered if he should be bowing or calling Noctis “my prince” or something. But then again, he wouldn’t be able to take such ceremony seriously after that fishing joke. And all the other instances of nerdery Noctis had subjected him to.

An errant thought made Prompto wonder where _he_ would fall in the court hierarchy, but he quickly pushed it back, because that was a stupid question, right?

“That’s awesome. I mean, that you guys picked a circus as the thing to be and stuff.”

“Yeah, I think it was so that we’d be able to interact with humans if we want to. There are a lot of people who are of the blood in your town, even if it’s only one tiny drop, ‘cause we’ve been coming here for generations. Some of the fae in the circus have human blood in them, too. It’s normal.”

“Oh, uh, that’s cool,” Prompto said hastily, once again trying not to think about the personal ramifications of what Noctis was saying. This was a _lot_ for his brain to handle. The fact that the circus really was magic was amazing and wonderful, but if it was magic, then Prompto was… well, what? And there was a part of him that still couldn’t believe, just because all of this was too crazy to be real… right?

Prompto took a deep breath. “Can I see your magic again, pretty please?” he said, a swift course of anticipation flowing through his veins.

“Yeah, of course.”

Noctis held out one hand. Sandwiched between the back of the circus and the plunge down into the void of sky and ever-churning sea, there could be no projectors or devices around to add special effects to anything. As Noctis’s hand began to gain a slight, light-blue glow, Prompto knew that what he was seeing could only be real. In Noctis’s palm formed one of those elaborate crystal flowers, gleaming as it floated in the air.

All Prompto could do was stare. All the breath had been punched out of his lungs.

_Noctis_ _’s crystal flowers. Real._

With trembling hands he reached out, and Noctis allowed it. Prompto’s fingers touched the side of the flower, which was smooth as a real crystal facet, cool to the touch and sending tingles down his arm. Prompto drew his hand back. But his eyes were riveted to the flower hovering above Noctis’s palm.

 _Magic. Real_.

“I, Noct - wow,” was all Prompto could say.

Noctis smiled with soft pride. He swirled his fingers and closed his palm, making the flower vanish in a muted blue flash.

Prompto’s round eyes flicked back to Noctis’s face.

“Cool, huh?” Noctis asked.

Finally, Prompto could no longer ignore what this meant for him. His brain seemed to be flat-lining a little. His breathing quickened and his fists clenched. Only one thought ran on repeat through his mind. Not joy over the beauty of Noctis’s magic or the trust that Noctis had just shown for him, but fear about what he knew he had to say next.

_ Never _ _show anyone the depths of your monstrosity._

But he had to, he _had_ to, if he was to have any hope of understanding himself. And he owed Noctis the truth.

“Prompto?” Noctis asked.

Although Prompto opened his mouth, it took several more tries before he could speak.

“So. I think I’m of the blood,” Prompto said, going for carefree but managing only desperately-masked anxiety.

“Seriously?”

Prompto nodded. “Yeah, but I can’t show you.” His voice came out soft and a little bit strangled. He cleared his throat, hoping that Noctis would understand.

“Why not?”

“Because, it’s… unnatural. My mom always said. She’s the only one who knows. I disgust her,” Prompto said, ending with a bitter laugh.

Noctis looked taken aback. “Can you turn your whole body inside out?”

“What? Um, no?”

“Can you turn your hair into snakes that make the humans who look at you turn to stone?”

“No!”

“Okay, then can you melt the flesh off your bones and let a beehive live in your ribcage?”

“Eww! OMG, no, Noct,” Prompto said, torn between laughter and disgust.

“Then whatever it is you can do, it can’t be _that_ bad by human standards,” Noctis said, tossing his head back. A challenge, even though there was still concern in his eyes.

Prompto chewed his lip. “I always thought it was kinda pretty,” he mumbled, an instinctual pang of guilt shooting through him.

“I wanna see,” Noctis said softly, tilting his head towards Prompto in concern.

“Okay. Okay,” Prompto repeated again, and closed his eyes. His heart was beating so loudly in his ears he thought that Noctis might be able to hear it. Was this how Noctis and the other performers felt before they went out on stage and showed _their_ magic to their audience? If they could do it, surely Prompto could too, right?

Prompto breathed in through his nose, felt the wind course through his veins. He remembered that tingle that had danced across his skin when he had touched Noctis’s flower. Rising from the sea of his heart like a leviathan, magic rose within him to answer the call. The tingling sensation spread outward from his chest in all directions, covering his skin until he was burning with power.

Prompto opened his eyes. When he saw the tiny lights, he knew.

Noctis was seeing this:

First, Prompto standing there in the dark, eyes closed and arms wrapped around himself tightly. A tiny pinprick of light appeared on his arm, golden. Then one on his hand, and then one on his face, another, and another.

Because Prompto’s freckles were turning to stars.

Soon, his entire body was covered in a constellation of pinpricks of light. It was at that point that Prompto had opened his eyes. Instead of imagining what Noctis was seeing, he now saw: Noctis watching in awe, smiling. Prompto breathed out through his nose, fearful and relieved at the same time. He wasn’t even half done yet, but with Noctis watching him with such patience he felt like maybe he could continue. Now breathing in, he gathered the feeling of magic that was running through his veins and urged it on, to continue. _For Noctis_.

Prompto’s heart beat ever faster. The stars began to separate from him, leaving blank, pale skin in the places where they pulled away. Like a cloud of tiny fireflies they orbited his body, close at first and then in a widening nebula. With the sky still covered, it was as if all the stars had come down to the earth to personally decorate the air around Prompto Argentum.

“Holy shit,” Noctis breathed, and a hand of crushing relief gripped Prompto’s heart. Noctis didn’t think he was unnatural, because Noctis was just like him.

A few of the stars strayed close to Noctis, one brushing against his skin. Prompto started, and those stars pulled back closer to him, as if drawn by a magnetic current. But Noctis still looked far from horrified - enraptured, maybe, was the right word.

“You like it?” Prompto said, painfully hopeful.

“Like it?” Noctis said, startled. “This fucking rocks, Prompto. You were right, it’s pretty. Whoever told you it’s bad is an idiot.”

Prompto blushed. He hadn’t done this in years, but now that he was standing here surrounded by stars, it felt so natural to just let them float around him. In some ways, they were an extension of his senses the way a cat’s whiskers were the extension of the cat’s sense of space and perception. Like this, he felt more complete, letting magic flow through his veins and fill the air around him.

“You really mean that?” he said shyly, not because he didn’t believe Noctis, but because he wanted to hear him say that again, just one more time.

“Yeah. Your magic is amazing and beautiful, and I guess your mom doesn’t have eyes.”

Prompto gave a shaky, watery laugh.

“You like it that much, huh?”

“Hell yeah, I do.”

Looking into Noctis’s face, Prompto saw that it was honest and open. He still couldn’t believe it. That in spite of what his mom had said his whole life, there was at least one person out there who thought Prompto’s magic was beautiful.

Prompto laughed, and could feel his knees shaking with adrenaline. On a whim, he said, “Hey, Noct.”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna keep one?”

Noctis tilted his head in question.

“I mean a freckle. A star. You can have one. You want it?”

Noctis’s mouth opened in surprise. “What? Yeah, that would be awesome,” he said.

Reaching out, Prompto searched the stars floating around him until he found one that somehow felt _right_ to him. Gently, he cupped it in his hands, which were also shaking. Then, he lifted his palm to his lips and blew the star towards Noctis, as if he were blowing a kiss.

The star flew towards Noctis, then began to spiral around him, going up and down and then back up again, exploring his body. Finally, it settled on his face, hovering in front of him for a moment until it seemed to choose a point. Then, it gently lowered itself down onto his right cheek at the height of his mouth, where it remained, shining.

In that moment, Prompto couldn’t help but think how beautiful Noctis looked, too.

“Thanks,” Noctis said, reaching up to run his fingers over his new, shining freckle. He shivered softly, most likely feeling the transfer of Prompto’s magic to his skin.

“It looks good,” Prompto said, before immediately feeling like an idiot and hoping he hadn’t said the wrong thing.

“Thanks, I think?” Noctis said, but he was smiling.

“Oof, I gotta sit down,” Prompto said, surprising himself with just how true that was. He needed to sit right now or his knees actually would give out. Carefully lowering himself down, he sat on the grass near the edge of the cliff, facing the sea. Star still burning on his cheek, Noctis sat down beside him.

The waves continued in their gentle pattern, ever constant and soothing. The clouds had thinned enough for moonlight to dance over the water, the moon itself but a hazy orb above them. The beat of Prompto’s heart and rush of his breath finally began to calm.

“I don’t even know why I can do this,” Prompto reflected in a low voice after a few moments of silence. “Where I come from, whatever.”

In the past, that question had always been tinged with bitterness. Why was he different from other kids? Why was he so fucked up that even his mom wanted to hide him? But now, it came with hope. Maybe there was a reason for this, and a place he belonged. Gods, but Prompto wanted to belong here.

“It sounds like maybe your dad was a faerie. Maybe even one that came from this circus. It doesn’t matter. Either way, you’re one of us,” Noctis said, nudging Prompto’s arm with his elbow.

Prompto smiled, but even though it was basically what he’d longed to hear, he couldn’t just sink into it and believe it. After this one night of ocean, wind, and stars, he’d be back to his normal life, in grey, concrete school, in a grey, smoky town, in his tiny, mouldy apartment, with his destiny set on a factory and his camera cold in his hands. All of this magic would be nothing but a memory. He would ask himself if he’d dreamed it, like he did every year when the circus went away. And gods, this was the best dream he’d ever had. Thinking that made him want to cry, and his stars pulled themselves to him protectively.

“I wish I could just stay here,” Prompto admitted, tears prickling in his eyes. “But you guys are gonna be gone tomorrow, and…”

“Prompto,” Noctis said, sounding concerned. “You _can_ stay here. You can come with us. Tomorrow we’re travelling back across the ocean to the Kingdom of Faerie. We’re gonna stay there for a few months before we tour the human realms again. Come with us. I know you’d love it there. I can take you to meet the person who can turn himself inside out, the girl who can turn her hair to snakes, and the guy who can fill himself full of bees. You’ll love them, seriously. They’re really nice.”

Prompto let out a wet little laugh. “But my mom… I need to graduate so I can work in the factory for her.”

There was a pause full of cold, rushing wind. Then, Prompto felt warmth against him as Noctis’s hand closed over the back of his hand where it rested against the grass.

“Hey,” Noctis said. “I _want_ you to come. It’s not fair that I only get to see you once a year.”

That statement gave Prompto pause.

_It_ _’s not fair that you have to work in the factory. It’s not fair that you have to hide. It’s not fair that this is the longest conversation you’ve ever had with Noctis. It’s not fair that you have to leave him._

Although he tried to argue with all of those traitorous thoughts and focus on how much his mom needed him, years of resentment, Holly’s quiet support, and Noctis’s outrage kept pulling him away and telling him to think otherwise. He was 16 now. At the end of the year he’d have to seek work past pet-sitting, put away his camera, and prepare to become a lost boy in a drab, hopelessly unchanging world.

“I _want_ to go with you,” he said again, desperately.

“So stay.” Noctis’s eyes burned, his face beautiful amid the halo of stars which had gravitated towards him. “Stay in my caravan tonight. I can have my dad help me summon your stuff tomorrow before we leave.”

Prompto thought about waking up tomorrow in his bed at home, knowing he’d refused Noctis’s offer. And it was that thought that finally defeated him. He didn’t think he could carry on at school and at home like everything was normal, with all these new secrets joining all the other ones he had constantly gnawing at him inside.

“Okay.”

All the stars retracted close to Prompto’s body protectively. “I’ll come. Okay. I love danger and living on the edge, haha. High school diploma? Who needs that.”

“Danger? Nah. But we fae always home-school, anyway.”

Prompto laughed. Flipping his palm upwards, he squeezed Noctis’s hand. Closing his eyes, he breathed in the cool air. The tingling all over his body began to calm. When he opened his eyes, he saw that all the stars had stilled, frozen gently in the air. Amid them, Noctis’s eyes were shining, Noctis’s expression as intense as in the ring, but filled with care and concern. Without thinking, Prompto leaned forward and kissed Noctis on the cheek, right beside the star that had embedded itself there. The star softly pulsed.

“Prompto-”

Noctis cut himself off, looking at Prompto with wide eyes. Prompto tried not to panic again.

“Oh my gods, sorry, I should have asked, my bad, please don’t—”

Noctis cut Prompto off. “No.”

Noctis leaned in again and kissed Prompto on the lips, just once. Prompto was stunned into silence.

There was a pause.

“No?” Prompto said, raising one eyebrow, so shaken he hardly knew what he was saying.

“Shut up.”

Prompto laughed. Noctis laughed, too, and the stars began to dance again, their galaxy fully enveloping both Noctis and Prompto so seamlessly it was impossible to tell whose stars belonged to whose.

After that, they joked a little more before Prompto recalled his star-freckles to his body by closing his eyes and pulling them in. Squeezing Prompto’s hand, Noctis let go and stood, then showed Prompto into his small caravan. As it turned out, it was magically bigger on the inside (Prompto didn’t even know why he was surprised), and there was plenty of room for Prompto to use the second bunk.

Tomorrow, the circus would fly back across the sea on a rolling cloud of mist. The faerie folk who lived there would spend the time fishing, relaxing, and going about their business. Soon, they would land on distant, fabled shores, where no human had ever set foot who was neither fated nor invited. And not only would Prompto be where he belonged, but he would also have Noctis at his side. Together, they would explore where Prompto’s powers came from and what being a faerie truly meant. More importantly, they would find out exactly what was blossoming between them, pure and delicate as a crystal flower, shining like a star, and more wondrous than any magic.

And next year when the circus returned, Prompto, too, would be under the Big Top, every freckle in his body shining brightly. For one night a year, he would help bring joy, colour, and light to the grey people of Schler-on-Sea. The wonder he’d always felt just by being here would belong to him, too, forever, with Noctis at his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments always welcome!


End file.
